


Tulips (are better than one)

by trilliastra



Series: Tumblr Fics [71]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Derek's mountain man beard, Future Fic, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-23 14:04:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13789281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trilliastra/pseuds/trilliastra
Summary: Derek leaves Beacon Hills and a few years later Stiles finds him in Nevada. Gardening.





	Tulips (are better than one)

“Yo, grandma! Why does your yard look so nice?”

“Because it’s been watered.” She answers, opening her arms and silently asking for the hug Stiles will never deny her. She always smells like cookies and coffee.

“That was supposed to be  _my_  job!” Ever since she dislocated her shoulder and Stiles’ dad gave her a lecture about being more careful, Stiles was entrusted on taking care of her garden for her. He isn’t particularly good at it, though. The last time he visited, two months ago she threatened to fire him, even though he’s, you know, her grandson.

“Well, I just got someone to help you.” She smiles and pats his cheek. “Since you’ve been  _so_  busy being away.”

“You need to work on your sarcasm, Mrs. Stilinski.” Stiles mutters, narrowing his eyes. His grandma smirks.

“ _Please_.Who do you think taught your father?” She turns to the fridge and begins pulling ingredients for a cake. “Chocolate cake, honey?”

Stiles only mutters a ‘yes, please’ and turns to look out the window. If she was, in fact, capable of firing her own grandson (even though he’s supposed to be working for  _free),_  Stiles should meet the person who replaced him and managed to make the roses look pretty again.

“He should be by the fence.” His grandmother says, joining him by the window. “He’s tending to the tulips today. I hope he’s shirtless again.” She adds.

“ _What_.” Stiles squeaks, turning to stare at her. “Grandma, tell me you didn’t hire him just because he’s  _hot_?” It has happened before,  _many_  times. The last guy she hired to fix the sink almost gave Stiles’ dad a heart attack.

“Not  _just_  because.” She smirks again.

“Oh my God.” Stiles face palms. His grandmother is a  _menace_.

Before she can retort, the back door swings open and  _Derek_  steps into his grandmother’s kitchen. “Cecilia, could you get me a glass of water?”

His grandmother’s smile gets bigger.

“Oh my God.” Stiles repeats.

–

Stiles doesn’t know what’s happening and by the look on Derek’s face he has no idea either.

“You look like a mountain man!” It’s the first thing Stiles says, mostly because Derek is in fact  _shirtless_ , and this is so not the time to start ogling his body.

 _God,_ he still looks damn good.

Derek blinks, stares at Stiles’ grandmother and then back at Stiles. “What?”

“Stiles!” His grandmother admonishes. “This is Derek!  _B_ _e nice_.”

“But –” Stiles babbles, still unsure of what’s happening. Derek said he was safe the last time they talked – well, when Stiles called him in full panic mode about Derek being investigated by the FBI – but he didn’t say where exactly, “you – a beard?  _Really?_ ”

“It’s good cover.” Derek answers shyly and pointedly averting his grandmother’s eyes.

They’ve cleared his name already, Stiles made sure of it. Derek is safe and free to be happy, because he  _deserves_  it. Stiles actually thought he was going to settle down with someone, build a pack, maybe? Admittedly it hurt a bit to think about it but, gardening? In Reno?

“Here’s your water, sweetie.” Stiles’ grandmother says, passing him the glass with a wink.

Stiles groans. “Not now!”

Derek looks confusedly between them. “She –”

“Derek, she’s my grandmother.” Stiles says. “Grandma, this is my friend, Derek.”

The two gasp.

–

“A  _friend_?” His grandmother can’t stop repeating even though they’re in the kitchen and Derek went back to his gardening. Stiles can see him from the window and the way his muscles keep flexing as he reaches out for the trowel is  _obscene_.

“Yes, grandma.” Stiles sighs, Derek is now wiping sweat off his face. Good God,  _why_.

“From Beacon Hills?” She joins Stiles by the window. Derek insisted on finishing with the tulips, ignoring Stiles’ joke – 'how many lips does a flower have?  _Tulips_ ’ – as he promised to be quick and that they’d talk later.

“Yup.”

“Are you sure?” She makes a humming sound, pretends to fan herself. “Because  _damn_.”

“Ugh,  _stop_.” Stiles groans. This right here is the reason why his dad claims he’s going to have a heart attack before he’s sixty.

He loves his grandmother, he really does. And it’s nice when they can go to the mall and talk about some guy’s ass, but Stiles usually doesn’t  _know_  them, or have been in love with for years. Not that she needs to know that part.

“Cecilia?” Derek calls, walking into the house as he puts his shirt on. Stiles kind of wants to stop him. “I finished with the tulips.” He glares at Stiles when he opens his mouth and then smiles at Stiles’ grandmother.  _Ugh_ , Stiles is jealous of his own  _grandma._

“Thank you, dear.” She answers, excitedly. “Come on in, let’s sit down and have a chat. I bet you and Stiles have a lot of catching up to do.” She pats his sweaty shoulder and winks. “He’s been in Reno for a couple of weeks.” She tells Stiles. “Working in construction, right?”

Before Derek can answer, Stiles is already punching his shoulder. “You could have told me!”

“How would I know you have family here?” Derek throws back.

“I told you I have family in Nevada!”

“Oh, right. Have you seen how big Nevada is?”

“As a matter of fact, yes!” Stiles keeps poking his chest, ignoring the sweat and how firm the muscles under the shirt feel. So not the time to get a boner. “I had to drive through it to get to Washington, to clear your name. Because I was worried!”

“You didn’t have to do that.” Derek’s voice turns soft and he almost looks sad, like he wasn’t expecting anyone to do that for him. Especially Stiles. “Thank you, by the way.”

“You’re welcome.” Stiles growls, frustrated. “You should’ve answered my calls, you know?”

“Yeah.” Derek answers, looking down almost ashamed. “But I didn’t know what to say.”

“What do you mean?” He blinks. “You could have just said 'hi, I’m in Reno,  _gardening_ '”.

To Stiles’ surprise, Derek laughs. “You wouldn’t have believed me.”

Stiles can’t help but snort. Derek’s absolutely right. He doesn’t think Scott will believe him, because he will  _definitely_  tell him about this later. “Yeah, I guess.” He then throws his arms around Derek’s shoulders and hugs him. There’s sweat and dirt all over his shirt, but as Derek circles his waist and hugs him back, Stiles realizes he doesn’t care. It’s hardly the grossest thing they’ve seen, anyway. Nothing will ever top the black goo Derek threw up on his shoes once.

“ _Oh_.” Stiles’ grandmother gasps. Stiles jumps, pulling away quickly as he realizes they just had a shouting match in front of his grandma. With hugging and everything. “He’s  _the_  friend!” She says, almost to herself.

“What?” They both ask. Derek looking between the two of them, confusedly.

“ _Oh,_ baby.” She says softly, smiling fondly at him. “He’s the  _one_.” She circles the table, hugs him tightly. “Oh, Mieczyslaw.” She pats his shoulder. “It was obvious last year and last month  _and_  right now.” His grandmother looks at them. “He’s the one you’re in love with.”

Stiles feels like he’s been punched. “He –  _what_?” He’s never told her that. Stiles has actually been extremely careful when telling his grandmother about his friend in general and Derek in particular. She’s always been good at reading him. “I didn’t – I never –” he keeps babbling, trying to ignore the look of surprise on Derek’s face.

“And you –” She moves to hug Derek just as hard, “he’s the one you’ve been missing all along. The boy who deserves better.”

“The what?” Stiles blurts out, shame being replace with anger. He can’t believe years have passed and Derek’s still a self-deprecating idiot. “Deserves better? Oh my god, I’m going to  _kill_  you.”He glares, stalking towards Derek – who still looks confused by Stiles’ grandmother outburst – and pulling him into a kiss.

It takes a beat but Derek eventually kisses him back, pulling him closer and closer as Stiles moves his lips to deepen the kiss. He vaguely registers his grandmother leaving the room, muttering about 'boys and their hormones’, and keeps pressing his body against Derek’s.

“I’m sorry.” Derek says when they pull back, looking absolutely  _indecent_  with his messy hair and swollen lips. “I just –”

“Shut up.” Stiles mutters, kissing him again. He hopes Derek has a house because he wants to take Derek’s clothes and map that chest with kisses, but there’s no way he will be doing that in his grandmother’s  _house_. “Tell me it’s true.” He whispers against Derek’s lips. “Tell me.”

“It’s true.” Derek’s says, looking into his eyes. “She’s right, I’m in love with you.”

“Me too.” Stiles says back. “I’m in love with you too.”

His grandma yahooes from the living room and Stiles only feels eighty percent embarrassed this time. She’s the worst. And the best.

–

“So Derek was in Reno gardening for your grandmother?” Stiles’ dad asks one week later when Stiles comes back to Beacon Hills dragging a freshly shaved Derek with him. Stiles kind of missed the stubble burn on the inside of his thighs, but he figures he will survive.

“Yeah.”

“And now you’re dating.”

“Yeah.”

“And your grandmother wants you to name your first born after her.”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Stiles’ dad collapses on the couch, reaching out for his second beer and a new slice of bacon. “I’m too old for this shit.”

Stiles squeezes Derek’s hand, too happy to lecture his dad about healthy food. He can do that tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> Because Tyler Hoechlin's mountain man beard was a gift and I miss it already.


End file.
